As if it’s not bad enough gas prices have spiraled out of control, then food prices shot through the roof, it now it looks like electricity is poised to take off. After walking my dog this morning, I sat down to eat breakfast with my daughter. I picked up the morning paper and on the front page was “Dominion Power Seeks State’s OK to Raise Rates 18%”. Eighteen percent! Are they crazy? How much more do these companies think we can take? The newspaper article sites higher coal and natural gas prices as the justification for the increase. I understand that these commodities have increased dramatically. I do. I get it. But honestly, 18% increase in one whack. Seems excessive. And look a few sentences back. The reason is higher “natural gas” prices. So it is probably safe to assume that Virginia Natural Gas will be looking for a substantial increase next. And, you can bet that Electric Companies in every state will be following suite, sooner or later. Looks like one day we might be eating canned beans around a camp fire on the back patio. I wonder if I can fit a wind turbine in my back yard?

In these tough economic times, I believe you should be taking action with regards to your personal finances. I would be working on ways to cut spending, saving more money and I would definitely be working on shoring up your employment. No kidding. The time for action is now!

Up until about seven years ago, we would eat out 2-3 times a week, on average. You would typically find our family dining out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Occasionally we would venture out during the week as well. Not only did this have a negative impact on our health, but it had an equally adverse effect on our wallet.

It’s that time of year again. Tax time! Yuck! Raise your hand if you hate doing your taxes! John *raises hand* =) I will spend tomorrow doing our taxes. I started getting everything together about a month ago, but stopped when I realized we are not getting any refund this year. So I haven’t exactly rushed to get it done! I usually have it planned fairly close, so we get a small refund. But not this year!

When I first began kicking around the idea of starting a blog, I came up with the theme of Family, Fitness & Finances. Sort of like food, folks and fun; only different! =) My premise was that these three key elements in peoples lives are interconnected. A recent comment to one of my posts “I love the idea of putting physical health and finance together. What’s the sense of having money if you can’t live healthy and long enough to enjoy it. :-))” just about sums it up. Right on, Ms. Cheapy! My thoughts exactly.

I wanted to take a few minutes and share my savings experiences today. I guess you could say this is an update to the post 5 Tips To Cut Your Grocery Bill Today!. I went shopping this afternoon, starting at Walgreens. I stopped by there to pick up some Alli. For those who don’t know, Alli is a weight lose product. I had three coupons totaling $25.00. So stop #1 netted a cool 42% savings! Not bad, right?

This just in! The cost to send your new born to an in-state public college 18 years from now will be at least $163,890. This according to the college calculator at money.com. This is the estimate for a 4 year public college, nothing special, not ivy league. Are you as shocked as I am?

In this post, I will give you three real life examples of why you should bother to register for rebates. And, I will also share how our family combines multiple discounts to maximize the bang for our purchasing buck. Ready? Of course you are!

How many times have you been enticed into purchasing something because of a nice fat mail in rebate? After tearing open your new prized possession, the rebate quickly fades into oblivion. Sound familiar. You’re not alone. That’s why manufacturers do mail in rebates. They get the psychological benefit of a great sale, without having to pony up. It’s a Vegas-esque numbers game, with the “house” favored to win. They know that the majority of consumers will not follow through to get the rebate. Don’t be a statistic. Well if you want to be a statistic, don’t be part of that statistic. Capiche?

In a VERY rare move the Fed met on Sunday night and decided to cut a key discount rate by 1/4 point to 3.35 percent.

So what does this mean to you. Not much, at least directly. This is the rate the Fed charges banks to borrow money and probably won’t affect consumer interest rates.

 
Whomever says there’s no inflation, hasn’t bought milk lately. OR bread, or meat, or eggs, or gasoline. You get the picture. What’s going on here? Why do these government bureaucrats insist that inflation is under control.